The Duet
by KellyLovesR5
Summary: Ross and Ratliff are assigned a new duet to be premiered at a car show. But, Ross has read through some Rosslington fan posts, and he isn't all too excited to be paired up with Ratliff! Perhaps, Ross will discover that working with Ratliff really isn't all that bad... Rosslington. One-shot. Bit of Rydellington in there. Also mentions Rockliff. Read and review, please and thank you!


**Author's Notes: I DO NOT think that any of the R5 fan fictions out there are "vile," "disgusting," OR "repulsive" in any way! I just wanted to lend to my story line. Ross' thoughts on the matter are ALL fictional and are not in any way a representation of real life. So, moving on!**

**DISCLAIMER: I would like to give official credit for all song lyrics to Justin Bieber, his management team(s), and to whom it may concern. No copyright infringement is intended and I am not profiting financially in any way from the making of this story. I love you, Justin!**

**I hope you all enjoy the fic! #Rosslington**

* * *

**The Duet**

"But, how are we going to turn this into a duet," Ratliff groaned. He really didn't feel like being in the studio today, but it wasn't as if he could just skip the meetings. "The song is for a solo artist," he said. The new co-producer looked up at him with a bit of annoyance but then smiled. "You should just trust us that it will all work out." The co-producer's eyes skipped between Ross Lynch and Ellington Ratliff. "You're both very talented, and I'm certain that it will be great. We are planning to premiere the duet at an outdoor car show during an intermission. Now, go try it out before you jump to any conclusions." The escort shuffled the two of them towards the recording station and Ratliff glimmered as he obliged. Slipping on the large headphones, he wondered if this would ever really work. As he began singing along, Ratliff had to admit that the lyrics seemed to slip effortlessly from his voice.

Ross sighed heavily as he passed each of the glass panes, walking through the well-known music studio. He _really_ didn't want to do this new duet with Ratliff, but he hadn't been given much of a choice in the matter. _Just try it_, they'd said. _Right._ They didn't understand how it felt to scroll through social media sites and see their names tagged with their _best friend_ in articles that ranged from vile and disgusting to outright repulsive. **(See A/N.)** Ross' ears perked up, though, as he heard Ratliff's voice passing through yet another sheet of glass. He looked up to see the familiar copper hair and meet with those same sparkling eyes. "Baby, take a chance or you'll never, ever know." Ratliff's voice sounded interesting, twisting to fit the mold of the lower notes in a way that Ross had to admit wasn't all that bad.

**-One Week Later, At the Outdoor Car Show-**

_If I was your boyfriend, I'd never let you go._

_I can take you places you ain't never been before._

_Baby, take a chance or you'll never, ever know._

_I've got money in my hands that I'd really like to blow._

Ellington's voice then ghosted over the crowd in a whispered tone against the mic. Ross smiled as he watched Ratliff take his place beside him at the front of the stage. "Swag, swag, swag on you." Ross then watched as Ellington pointed directly to him. Ratliff's eyes were set in a mesmerizing gaze. He continued his line with, "Chillin' by the fire while we eatin' fondue." The other boys and Rydel began dancing from the crowd, but Ross just couldn't take his eyes off of Ellington.

"I don't know about me, but I know about you," Ratliff sang. Ross knew that that mesmerizing gaze was meant for him. Ratliff _meant_ to be staring directly into Ross' eyes, holding them as if he were going to lose something valuable. Ross shook himself and he was finally able to look away when Ratliff did. Ell pointed three fingers toward the crowd and counted them off as he sang his next line. "So, say hello to falsetto in three, two, swag."

Suddenly, Ratliff turned back to Ross and discreetly gave him a cute little wink as he sang: "I'd like to be everything you want." Then, he turned and headed straight into the crowd. "Hey girl," he sang as he pointed to Rydel and jumped down off the stage. Ratliff began dancing with the other members of R5 while Ross watched on. "I'd keep you on my arm, girl." Ratliff smiled as he extended his arm, hand-in-hand with Ross' sister. He danced easily with her. Ross tried to ignore them as he sang the rest of the chorus.

Becoming envious, Ross eventually pulled Ratliff back toward the stage in hopes of keeping his attention focused on the audience. Ratliff smiled at him and raised a questioning eyebrow as he sang the next line: "Tell me what you like. Yeah, tell me what you don't." Ross simply rolled his eyes and turned away from his friend. Ratliff continued his verse with, "I don't never wanna fight, yeah, you already know." Suddenly, Ratliff jumped onto the hood of a car and began dancing lightly on it. Ross' face dropped, but Ratliff only smiled through his lines.

"Girlfriend, girlfriend, you could be my girlfriend. You could be my girlfriend until the w-w-world ends." From the stage, Ryland spun a track on Ratliff's "W" and then smiled as everyone cheered for him. "Make you dance, do a spin and a twirl and…" Ratliff performed a quick twirl atop the hood of the car. Ross watched as his fingers looped around the mic cord and his feet swung effortlessly around in a tight circle. "Voice goin' crazy on this hook like a whirlwind. _Swaggie._"

Ross couldn't have mistaken the look that Ratliff gave him as he turned back and stared directly into Ross' eyes, whispering his last line. Out of all of that drabble about "Rockliff," all of the little glances and the inside jokes between them… None of them had meant anything compared to the way that Ratliff felt about Ross. And now, Ross knew that, and he knew that that was how it would always be. Convinced, Ross took the next line. The producers had agreed that Ross' voice was the higher of the two and therefore, better suited to the line: "I'd like to be everything you want."

Ross quickly grabbed his acoustic guitar and wrapped it around himself as he played the chorus under Ratliff's mellow voice. Their voices melted together throughout the next chorus, Ross taking the higher parts and Ratliff mixing with his timbre. The two then performed some choreographed dance moves together, and Ratliff stared into Ross' eyes as he sang the next line: "So give me a chance, 'cause you're all I need, girl." Ross smiled back at him and returned him with the line: "Spend a week with your boy, I'll be calling you my girlfriend." Ratliff gained a wide smile as he saw that Ross was beginning to reciprocate his actions. He breezed through the next two lines, causing the crowd to jump and cheer loudly into the chorus. "If I was your man, I'd never leave, girl. I just want to love you, treat you right."

Ross' voice floated perfectly up to all of the high phrases in the song, and Ratliff admired it as the two sang. They jumped in time off of the stage and did a few synchronized moves together, ending the dance turned toward each other with Ratliff holding the mic and Ross smiling at him like crazy. The crowd went crazy, too. They'd never seen anyone dance on one of the cars before. And, with good reason. Ross noticed a police officer heading towards Ratliff and quickly tapped him, sending them both running off in the direction of the tour bus. Unbeknownst to anyone, the two exited the car show happily holding hands.


End file.
